What's driving up food prices?

Jehea thinks the casuses are:

1. Global shifting of diet: Shifting to meat consumption, which requires more grains, causes shortage in food for people.
2. Increased interest to biofuel issues
3. Demand for grains is increasing.
4. Climatic conditions: Recent droughts in Australia, Central Europe, and many other places in the world.
5. Low stocks: Growing grains tend to be seasonal and time consuming. Therefore the stocks tend to be quite low.
6. Crisis in Financial Markets: Illiquidity created by the crisis in financial market makes investment difficult. As a result, investment is not reached to the community which concentrates in agriculture. Therefore, harvest is not expected.

Sources:

Robert Zoellick, President of World Bank, Opening Press briefing at the WB-IMF meetings 2008.
Davao Norte farmers rue high costs, low gains from farming, By Frinston Lim Mindanao Bureau, Inquirer.net, April 06, 2008